Scams valued at more than £68,000 halted by vigilant bank staff

New bank protocol allows staff to contact police if they are suspicious about customer transactions

Banking staff have prevented attempted scams worth more than £68,000 perpetrated against Fife customers.

In the last five months, 12 suspicious transactions were stopped when police were called in.

Last week, the alarm was raised when an elderly man tried to withdraw a fourfigure sum of money to pay for work on his Cupar home.

A Nationwide employee concerned about the request from the customer, in his 80s, called the police and a 21-yearold man was arrested and charged with a trading regulations offence.

Under the Banking Protocol fraud prevention scheme launched in Scotland in March, bank staff can alert police if they suspect a customer is being scammed, triggering a blue light response to the branch.

Detective Chief Inspector Scott Cunningham said: “Since March, we have seen thousands of pounds retained in people’s bank accounts, safe from falling into the hands of bogus callers and rogue traders.

“The incidents in Fife have seen staff from branches of numerous different banks calling police to invoke the protocol so that we could attend and quickly deal with any concerns or criminality.”

Members of the public were also urged to be aware of potential scams and to raise the alarm if they suspect someone they know has been targeted.

Scammers and rogue tradesmen will often offer unsolicited and often unnecessary work and persuade vulnerable people to take cash from the bank to pay for it.

Mr Cunningham said: “Whilst an extremely effective tool in tackling doorstep crime, we don’t want to rely on this as many older and vulnerable people could still be conned into having shoddy, substandard work carried out at their property and then paying well over the odds for it.

“I’m calling on everyone in Fife to think about their friends, family, neighbours and indeed themselves to make sure they know what to look out for.

“The simplest thing to do if you get an unexpected caller at your door offering goods or services is to politely decline their request or offer and call the police.”

People who suspect a rogue trader or bogus caller should call police on 101, or dial 999 if a crime is in progress. They can also contact Fife Trading Standards or Citizens Advice Scotland.

Since March we have seen thousands of pounds retained in people’s bank accounts, safe from falling into the hands of bogus callers and rogue traders